3 Crazy, Sexy, Raw Recipes for Dinnertime

October 14, 2018

In addition to choosing whole foods, I love encouraging people to up their intake of raw foods. Many raw dishes are wonderful alkaline boosters.

That doesn’t mean you need to eat them exclusively. It just means that we could benefit from including more of them in our daily diet. Why? There are several reasons. Raw foods contain more water-soluble vitamins and enzymes (the spark of all life). Plus, studies show that a diet rich in raw foods promotes a faster resting metabolism. Cooking foods definitely has some advantages, including adding variety to a plant-heavy diet and increasing the availability of some antioxidants. A combo of mostly raw and some cooked foods is ideal over the long term.

Here are some raw recipes to try at dinnertime.

Beetroot Ravioli With Cashew Cream Cheese

Homemade raw ravioli may seem daunting, but it’s actually quite easy. And this rendition contains the powerful phytonutrient betanin, which helps to neutralize nasty free radicals in the body. These revolutionary raviolis are a splendid start to any Mediterranean-inspired meal. Bravo!

Prepare Marinade: Combine olive oil, squeeze of lemon, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Add sliced beets and marinate for at least 1 hour to overnight.

Prepare Ravioli: Lay half of the sliced, marinated beets on a flat surface (these are the bottom layer of your ravioli). Using a spoon, scoop one tablespoon of the Cashew Cream Cheese in the center of each beet slice (you could also use a pastry bag). Cover the cheese with another sliced beet to complete the ravioli.

Prepare Asparagus Salad: Shave the asparagus into long, thin pieces using a veggie peeler. Combine the asparagus, toasted pumpkin-seed oil, squeeze of lemon, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper in a bowl, and gently toss to mix ingredients well. Do this just before serving, to ensure you keep the crispness of the veggies.

Serve: Place 6 to 8 ravioli on each plate. Arrange a handful of shaved and dressed Asparagus Salad on top of the ravioli. Garnish with minced chives, a drizzle of aged balsamic vinegar, cracked pepper, and a pinch of sea salt if using.

Cashew Cream Cheese (makes 2 cups):

Ingredients:

2 cups raw cashews, soaked for a few hours or overnight in water, to soften

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon onion powder

1 1/2 tablespoons finely diced chives

1/4 cup finely minced parsley

1 1/2 tablespoons finely minced shallots or red onion

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Blend the soaked cashews with water and lemon juice in high-speed blender, until smooth. Pause often to scrape sides of blender and fold ingredients to ensure a creamy texture.

Vegetable Sushi Maki Rolls

A mineral-rich nori sheet is the Batmobile of wraps for your sushi fixings, especially since nori is a strong source of calcium and iron. Your first roll might be a little tricky, but with practice you’ll be a sushi master in no time.

Place nori on a sushi mat. Spread the root rice evenly on a nori sheet, but be sure to leave about half an inch around all the edges. Press the root rice firmly against the nori.

Stack red peppers, daikon sprouts, and shiitake mushrooms over the root rice in one long strip across the center.

Now it’s time to rock and roll. Starting at the edge closest to you, begin rolling up the mat with nori using both hands. As you roll, tuck and press the nori with your fingertips to keep the roll tight.

Roll until you’ve reached the last inch of bare nori; wet the nori with a dab of water, and press the edge to seal your roll. Slice each maki roll in 6 to 8 pieces.

Serves 1

Squash Pasta With Sage Pesto

This creamy, perky pesto coats your veggie noodles in a soulful sage sauce that won’t sit like a brick in your belly after you leave the table. Zucchini is not only tasty, it’s also a good source of potassium—a mineral that promotes proper muscle growth.